My favorite part about having a garden in the summer, is growing different types of tomatoes, because we enjoy canning tomato juice, stewed tomatoes and salsa.  When tomatoes become in abundance, I make salsa. We enjoy our homemade salsa all year long.  



I have tried peach salsa before, and I wanted to try to make it in my kitchen.  Peaches add a sweetness to the tomatoes, I love the combination! 




I know Mrs. Wages Salsa mix is a great base to work with. I like to add MORE fresh ingredients from my garden as well. 




I like to add all ingredients to the blender and pulse until they are all chopped and in equal pieces. You can make it chunkier, to your preference. 

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash tomatoes, cut out cores.
2. Scald tomatoes in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, or until skins on tomatoes are starting to peel.
3. Remove from boiling water and add to ice bath.  Remove skins. Cut tomatoes into quarters.
4. Pulse tomatoes in blender (optional)
5. Add garlic, peppers, and onion in processor and pulse.
6. Add Peaches to blender and pulse.
7. Measure out 5 pints of tomatoes, and place in large saucepan.
8. Add 4 oz Mrs. Wages Salsa Mix.
9. Add vinegar
10. Heat to a boil, stirring occasionally.
11. Boil for 10 minutes. Salsa is ready to can or freeze, or serve and enjoy!

I put salsa on grilled chicken breasts, and eggs for breakfast. 

T-Bones is one of my favorite meals. Ever. All cuts of beef have always been my favorite, It is the perfect meal for me. It reminds me of growing up on a cattle farm, dad cooking on the grill, family dinners. T-Bone Steaks, when grilled correctly, are best off the grill at home.  When you can enjoy T-Bone Steaks at home, it always feels like a special meal.  This summer when the sweet corn is ready, that is a perfect combination with any cut of meat. 




Kids won't normally order steaks when they are eating out, but mine will. When we eat steaks at home, table manners are thrown out the window, and you can find my teenage daughter eating steak with her hands.  I know I need to work on her manners, or not worry about her going on any dates when she is age - appropriate (we have decided that is 30). 





Grilling T-Bone steaks at home can save you money, because it is an expensive cut of meat to begin with. I have seen the prices of T-Bone steaks increase in the past years.  

Why has the price of meat gone up? 

There is a very strong demand for beef products.  When demand goes up, so does the price.  The consumer will see this all trickle down to an increased price at the grocery store. According to USDA, beef demand has gone up 12% from 2016-2017.  Not only has the demand in the US gone up, Japan is demanding more of our meat, up 26%.  In return, US cattlemen feel the pressure.  Beef supplies are increasing, but at a slower pace than the demand.  

How do I know when the grill is hot?

Just seven things? Of course, more than seven things happen when your kids are in 4-H.  I'm making mental notes of what I want to do differently in the following years. Sometimes it's picking up the phone to ask alumni, a vet, or a friend, what can I do to make this better?

I still catch myself telling  my kids, "When I was in 4-H, this is how we did it!"  I am sure I thought I worked really hard on my projects, and I bet my parents thought I could have put more work into my projects.  That's what parents do.  Push their kids, because we know what they are capable of. 

What matters is the lessons we teach our kids, and the habits that form over time.  

1. You meet a lot of families with the same interest as yours.
   
   Photography, foods, animals, or learning about lawn mower parts, you are going to find that these parents are teaching their kids the same thing you want to teach your kids.  Chores, responsibility, life skills and knowing their way around the kitchen.  Survival.  Think you did it right the first time? Let's do it again!  Knowing other families with the same interests gives you someone to talk to, with questions about feeding, picking out an animal to purchase.  I have had conversations with some 4-H moms about the best brand of flour to use for our kids foods project.
   
   
   
2. You discuss more livestock than you ever thought you would at the dinner table
   My son started talking about sows at the dinner table that I'm sure most kids don't talk about. My daughter's friends who were over for the evening learned a few things. One time my son started talking about pigs when we were out to eat.  He was helping another breeder and was beginning to learn about what it takes to breed a sow.  I thought my husband wanted to hide under the table.  
3. There are deadlines to meet, and we like to push it to the last minute.
   
   As parents, we promise ourselves we are starting projects "earlier next year"  and many can be completed in the winter time.  Time tends to get away from us, and most projects are completed, just in time for check-in on general projects day. 
   
   
   
4. When things start disappearing from the house, you know it's probably out in the barn.
   
   My kitchen ladder disappeared this spring.  I  use it to get to the top shelf in the kitchen.  I'm that short, or my cabinets are just too tall.  The ladder is being used to hang lights, and fans, and hold a door open.
   
   I'd love to hear what kind of soap is your favorite to use on pigs, we use Dawn. You know why it gets the grease out! So when we run out, the kids pull mine from the kitchen sink.
   
   We like to give pigs treats.  It's a late night snack or a way to coax them to walk out of the barn, or a little further down the lane.  All the marshmallows are currently cleared out of the pantry.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. The family spends a lot of time in the barn.
   In the evening, we tend to gather in the alley of the barn, sitting in folding chairs, or on buckets. We watch the pigs eat, and we watch them sleep.  When we finally look at our watches, we know its late, and time for us to head to bed ourselves.
   
   
   
   
6. Learn from the Mistakes                             
   
   Last year, my son took lawn mowers for the first time.  There was a driving test and a written test.  He became so confident in driving the course, he bumped the throttle up.  When he bumped up the throttle, his speed increased.  He approached the end of the course with too much speed and knocked off the golf ball from the last post.  That lesson will always be remembered.  Learn from the mistakes so you can do better the next time.  
7. Celebrate the victories
   Celebrate the victories, no matter how small. The blue ribbon in foods, completing the tractor course. Embrace your kids and tell them you love them and are proud of them.  At the end of the week, when the family packs up the trailer and pick up the projects, you realize how fast the week went at the fair.  Take those victories and apply them to the next year.